On 6 June 2013, journalists from the Guardian and Washington Post reported that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was undertaking a portfolio of clandestine mass surveillance programs on a scale reminiscent of George Orwell’s dystopian society of 1984. Their initiatives supposedly ranged from bulk collection of email and telephone records to infiltrating the data infrastructures of every leading internet company and service provider. These activities were not targeted at specific individuals or groups, but rather focused on compiling personal data from millions of unsuspecting citizens indiscriminately and without jurisdiction or oversight.

Michael Takeo Magruder and Headlong's associate artist, Sarah Grochala, gave a talk on PRISM and the 1984 Digital Double project at the Nam June Paik Art Center on Wednesday 17 September. For full details of the event available here.